Usually I laugh at the ignorance of your columnists, but the Alligator Editorial Board's dismissal of the STARS campaign is a new low.
You say, "If we can't laugh at ourselves, can we really laugh at anything else?"
Correction: Minorities are not dressing up as themselves for Halloween. Others, outside of those minority groups (primarily whites) are dressing up as minorities, which is a sign of their white privilege.
This is called cultural appropriation. It is not cute, and it is not funny. You say, "Stereotypes have always been a subject of comedy."
Wow, is that really your masterful argument? Because it has occurred for so long makes it OK? Just because blackface has been used throughout history does not make it acceptable, nor are any other similar attempts of appropriating a culture through costume and makeup.
"We" are not laughing at ourselves; "you" are laughing at us and using our cultures as the punchlines. If a marginalized group is telling you that it is being offended or subjugated, then you, as the majority, should not dismiss them just because it is not an issue for you.
Your privilege automatically makes the issue invisible to you, and they are attempting to bring it to your attention. So how about you stop and listen?
Race and ethnicity are not things that can be put on or taken off. Minorities can't hang up a part of their identity in a closet.
What is with this temporary fascination of others' culture? What gives you the right to pretend for a night?
Laura Guzman
UF advertising junior
